Legendary Blackwood Marathon Ironwoman Sarah Wiese from Narrogin has been coming to the South West region for many years to participate in the Blackwood Marathon, having won the event 15 times.
Now for the first time Ms Wiese is taking on an even tougher challenge by running through the South West region along the Bibbulmun track with her niece as a way to help raise awareness and funds for breast cancer.
The Bibbulmun Track is a long distance walk-run trail from Kalamunda to Albany and is 1003 kilometres long. The name comes from the Noongar people, Indigenous Australians from the Perth area.
Ms Wiese and Ms Reid started out in Albany on June 4 and are planning to arrive at the end of the track in Kalamunda on June 29, averaging 45kms per day as part of the 1003km journey.
“I have been wanting to run along the Bibbulmun track for a long time, so Gemma and I decided to do this together and at the same time raise some funds for breast cancer,” Ms Wiese said.
“We have both had some close friends affected by breast cancer so I saw this as a great way to help spread the word.
“The Bibbulmun track is beautiful, it is absolutely stunning and it is amazing that someone has been able to string something as wonderful as this together through so much national park with such amazing scenery.
“Sometimes it is a bit more scenic that we necessarily like, as it seems to go up and down plenty of hills.”
Eighteen-year-old Ms Reid from York was keen to join her aunt for the journey to help raise funds for cancer research as well as having an opportunity to improve her fitness level before she heads to Ireland next month for an international Ironwoman triathlon.
“I saw this as a great way to do some extra training and I was hoping it would be pretty challenging for me,” Ms Reid said.
“It has definitely been challenging so far. The weather hasn’t been the kindest, but we just keep going and push through it. It is just beautiful out here and such an amazing track.”
While passing through the region, Ms Wiese and Ms Reid caught up with local Bridgetown resident Alison Wheatley, who provided support to them and later joined them for a morning run along the track.
The duo are very happy with the support of family and friends as they run their way along the track. They are hoping to raise $8000 for cancer research.
Anyone interested in supporting their cancer fundraising cause can do so by going to: acrf.everydayhero.com/au/jemma
